Police foil JaPa rally in city

Police foiled on Saturday a rally organised by the Jatiya Party in front of the party's central office in the capital's Kakrail area.
The party leaders and activists said that their rally was abruptly disrupted on Saturday afternoon (11 October) following a heavy-handed police response.
The incident occurred shortly after 3:30 pm (Saturday) when police reportedly used water cannons and fired multiple sound grenades to disperse the gathering despite the party leaders addressing the crowd.
The police effectively foiled the planned demonstration.
However, there was no report of injuries or casualties despite tensions flaring at the scene as activists were dispersed.
The Jatiya Party has condemned the police action.
They termed it as an unwarranted obstruction of their constitutional right to peaceful assembly.
Jatiya Party Secretary General Shameem Haider Patwary told the journalist that the rally was peaceful and brief, but police unlawfully stopped the assembly.
He further said the police acted based on false information. They should have exercised restraint. Several of our leaders and activists were injured.
talhabinhabib@yahoo.com